On a rainy day in Bhoomieland a curious creature appeared from the forest. He slowly sneaked through puddles and around corners until he suddenly stopped. Ahead lay something strange. Three small bundles curled up close together under a big umbrella-flower. It was the sleeping Bhoomies, snoozing away cosily.
The creature was a little scared, he didn’t expect to see anyone, but his curiosity overwhelmed all his other feelings and so he tiptoed closer to get a better look.
They were small and all zipped up in little flower blossoms. They looked so warm in their cocoons and so the creature started to feel warm on the inside too. Suddenly there was a rustle from one of the blossoms and something flung itself onto the creature. He was so startled that he jumped and started running as fast as he could, looking for a safe place to hide.
Unaware of the scramble, Joy Bhoomie came whistling happily around the corner only to be knocked over by something very fast. With a whirl and a whisk, Joy Bhoomie realised that not only was she on the ground, but something was missing…oh no! Where was her happy butterfly?
Across the road Samson the lion and Priscilla Peacock were having a very pleasant conversation, that was until Joy Bhoomie ended up on the floor. With the sudden commotion Samson leaped into the road, trying to catch the offender. The creature, now even more scared and confused, was so busy trying to swerve away from the lion that he didn’t notice something blocking his way – it was Priscilla Peacock’s bottom! “Watch out!” shouted Samson, but it was too late, the creature ran straight into it. Feathers fluttered everywhere and a loud screech with it. Samson roared snappingly at Priscilla, “I told you to watch out!”. Suddenly he realised, oh no, his inner kitten, the only thing that kept his roaring nature balanced, was gone. But the creature didn’t stop, he just kept running until he reached the nearest shadowy corner, somewhere behind the funny fence (it’s hilarious), next to the bumbling bush (always full of bees).
The creature tucked his little body tightly, aware that the feathers were now on his head and certain that the peacock would come looking for it. The buzzing from the bees was so loud that he pushed hard against the corner, so hard he suddenly found himself on the other side of it. He kept his eyes tightly shut, too scared to peep and realise how or where he was, but something tickled his eyes so much that eventually he had no choice but to open them, curious to see what was causing the flutters.
All around, everywhere he could see, were tall towers made of wood, filled to burst with coloured blocks. Suddenly, a sound came flying around the corner and the creature scrambled as high as he could get, securing his little body in-between some of the coloured blocks. A strange feeling swirled in his tummy and as he looked down, he realised that his tummy and everything else below it had turned into a coloured block as well. “Oh no!” he thought, “What is happening?”
Then a calm, friendly voice spoke and said: “Don’t be afraid little one, come out, let me see you.” The creature felt the warmth of the voice flow deep into his core, untying the little knots of fear and allowing his curiosity to break free again.
“Hello?” he said quietly into the air, not knowing what to speak to. Then a small, fiery haired creature jumped out from behind one of the blocks. “Well hello there! It’s nice to meet you!” she said with a big smile. “I’m Katie the librarian, and you must be curious?”
The creature shuffled a little, looking very guilty. “I didn’t mean to take anything! Things just end up with me and it makes me look bad.” he rambled quickly. “I mean…I don’t even know where I am or how I got here, but I don’t want everyone to think I’m here to take things”, he continued.
Katie placed one finger quietly against her lips and blew softly, suddenly realising that the creature had no idea how special he was. A sprinkle of sparkle flew from her fingertips and one of the blocks opened. The creature was mesmerised as one page flicked after another. Tiny symbols danced on the white, faster and faster, twirling one after the other, until it finally came to a flickering stop. “Aha!” said Bhoomie Katie, here it is.
“Some creatures have the ability to keep learning new things. This is a wonderful quality to have, however, youngsters with this gift need to learn how to control it, as at first it may be viewed as thievery and cause them great embarrassment. The school most perfectly suited for this is Hatuteka, the Bhoomie School of Wisdom, where Bhoomies learn to control their gifts.”
The creature looked at Katie in wonder. For the first time he understood who he was. He wasn’t a thief, he was a Bhoomie, but most of all – he had a gift!
Katie snapped the book shut and withdrew a mirror from her pocket. “Well then, looking at all the things you have learned today, I’ll have to get you enrolled as soon as possible.”
The creature looked into the mirror and couldn’t believe it. A caterpillar and a butterfly framed his eyes, his hair was a river of peacock feathers and his face the shape of Samson’s inner kitten.
As if Katie had read him like the book that was now his body, she turned to him and smiled, “it’s ok little one, until you start school you can use the word ‘Bibelot’. It will help you to stay calm and prevent things that you are curious about to stick to you – until you learn to control it, and when you do, you’ll be able to transform into these things by choice.”
Katie pulled the creature into a big hug, “welcome to the Bhoomie family,” the creature snuggled in, for the first time not scared of anything attaching itself to him. “Oh, and one more thing,” said Katie, “your name is Neo.”
From then on Neo started to embrace new things that came to him. He loved going to school to learn how to control them and they all lived Bhoomingly ever after.